Tubular lock



, March1944. c, LEDIN ET AL v 2,344,484

TUBULAR LOCK y Filed Maron 29. 1941 2 sheets-sheet 1 March 14, 1944..

C. LEDIN ET AL TUBULAR Lvocx Filed I vlamh 29, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2TTORNEY` Patented Mar. 14, 1944 TUBULAR. LOCK Charles Ledin, StamforAndrew, New Rochell d, Conn., and John P. e, N. Y., assignors to TheYale c Towne Manufacturing Company, Stamford, Conn., a corporation ofConnecticut Application March 29, 1941, Serial No. 385,824

13 Claims.

. This invention relates to locks, and more especially to tubular locksof the type in which a latch bolt is retracted by inside and outsiderollbacks, with the feature that the outside rollback may be locked by apush piece to prevent its operation. While locks of this general typeare old and well known in the art, our invention is directed to aparticular construction whereby we obtain, in a single tube lock, afunctioning and operation of the parts which is extremely desirable.

As an important feature of our invention, we are able to obtain, in asingle tube tubular lock, an easy acti-on latch bolt in combination withan automatic throw-off push piece. By an easy faction latch bolt, wemean a latch bolt which is projected by an extremely light spring, sothat it may be easily latched back when it hits the strike to allow' forfacilitated closing of the door, while at the same time, the knobretraction of the latch bolt is Opposed by a relatively heavier springresistance, all as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

As a further feature of our invention, the push piece which/locks theoutside rollback is retained yieldingly in its locking position by aspring, which is preferably the spring which projects the latch bolt. Inthis way, the movement of the push piece is only'lightly opposed, andyet the push piece may be effectively retained in locking position. Asstill a further feature of the invention, the push piece is adapted forautomatic throwolf to release position, upon retraction of the latchbolt by the inside knob, or by the strike when the door to which thelock is applied is moved to closed position.

Before proceeding with a detailed description of our invention, weshould like to emphasize that the contribution of an easy action latchboltandv an automatic push piece throw-olf or release in a simpletubular lock casing of commercial size, is an extremely valuable one,and one which has been long sought. While a preferred form of the meanswhich we have devised is shown in the accompanying drawings and will bedescribed in this specification, it should be understood that Weconsider our invention to be a relatively broad one, and that we expectto obtain claims which will prevent the utilization of our contributionto the art in physical forms other than that herein shown and described.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. l is a horizontal section throughour tubular lock casing showing the various operating parts. Fig. 2 is asection of Fig. `1 taken along lines 2-.2. Fig.

ing lug 3l 3 shows the parts yof Fig. 1 in a different operatingposition. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a latch retracting yokeutilized in our lock. Figs. 5 and 6 are sections taken respectivelyalong lines 5-5 and 6-6 of Fig, 1. Fig. '7 is a perspective view of thepush piece used for locking the outside rollback. Fig. 8 is aperspective view of the tubular lock assembly. Fig. 9 is a View showinga portion of a door to which the lock is applied. 1

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and especially Fig. 8,we show there a single tube tubular lock housing designated generally byreference numeral I0, and formed of two parts II and I2 which are heldtogether at one end by a pin I3, and at the other end by a face plate I4, which in turn is secured to a decorative face plate I5. The parts IIand I2 are so formed that the resulting housing IU is octangular, as isshown, with the internal surfaces thereof acting as guides for thevarious parts to be described presently.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, our lock comprisesa latch bolt assembly including a bolt head I6 having a rearwardly eX-tending shaft portion I l adapted to enter a sleevelike portion I8 ofthe tail piece I9. A spring 20 presses at one end against the tail pieceI9 of the latch bolt assembly, and at its other end is secured inpressure relation to a plug 2I having a pin portion 22 extending throughan opening 23 in what we term a push piece guide casing 24. The crosssectional shape -of the push piece guide casing 24 is best illustratedin Fig. 2. It is formed preferably of sheet metal bent to the sectionshown, and secured at its lower end to the housing portion I2, as bestshown in Fig. 5, and at its upper end to the housing portion I I.

Slidably mounted within the guide casing 24 is a push piece 25 (Fig. 7)internally threaded at 26 for threaded engagementfwith the threaded end21 of a push button 28, as best illustrated in Fig. 8. The push piecehas detent portions 29 and 30 formed thereon, with which is cooperablethe pin 22 `of the plug 2I for yieldingly retaining the push piece inits position of Fig. l or in its position of Fig. 3. I

As Will be noted, the push piece 25 has a lockwhich is adapted to entera slot 32 formed in an outside operated rollback 33, which is rotatablymounted in the casing in a conventional manner well understood by thoseskilled in the art. It is obvious that when the push piece 25 is in itsposition of Fig. l, the locking lug 3l will be within the slot 32.0f theoutside rollback, and will effectively lock the rollback againstrotation.V At the same time, a pair of cam sur- -its strike. l

`an opening 44 in the 2 faces 34 which are integral with the push piece25 and are located above the locking lug 3|, are cooperable with cammingsurfaces 35 formed on an inside rollback 35, also mounted within thecasing in a conventional manner well understood by those skilled in theart (Fig. 5).

With the push piece in its locking position of Figs. 1 and 5, theoutside rollback 33 cannot be rotated. The inside rollback 36 mayhowever be rotated, and one of its camming surfaces 35 will cooperatewith one of the cam surfaces 34 to move the push piece from its positionof Fig. l to the position of Fig. 3. This movement will of course beagainst the yielding pressure of the pin 22 of the plug 2| as effectedby the pressure of spring 28.

Should the push piece 25 be moved to its locking position of Fig. 1 andthe door slammed shut, it is obvious that the bolt head |'6 will bemoved rearwardly as it contacts its strike, all in the usual mannenThe-rearward movement-of the latch bolt is illustrated in Fig. 3, and itwill be noticed that the end surface I9a of the tail piece I9, formed inthe manner of a cam, will cooperate with the angular surface 31 of thepush piece 25 for camming the push piece upwardly to the position ofFig. 3, all as is quite apparent. Reviewing what has already beendescribed, it is quite clear that the push piece 25 locks the outsiderollback 33 when itis depressed into its position of Fig. 1. It is alsoclear that the push piece 25 may be moved back to its unlocked positionby rotation of the-inside rollback 36, or by retraction of the latchbolt as it impinges against For retracting the latch bolt by the insideand outside rollbacks, we use What We choose to term a yoke 38, one formof which is shown best in perspective in Fig. 4. This yoke is preferablyU-shaped, and has its closed end 39 fitting over shoulders 40 formed onthe sleeve portion |8 of the latch bolt assembly. The parallel legs 4|ofthe yoke 38 extend rearwardly at each side of vthe casing I0, as bestillustrated in Fig. 2, to a, point beyond the push piece housing 24, andhave bent out portions 42 cooperable.. with portions ofthe outsiderollback 33 and the inside .rollback 36.

.'A spring guide pin 43 fits at one end within closed end 39 of theyoke, and at 45 in an opening of the push piece guide Vcasing 24. Aspring 46 surrounds the guide pin y43 and serves Ato project the yoke 38into its position of Fig.A 1. It Will now be readily appreciated thatrotation of either the inside or the outside rollback willA vretract theyoke 38 against the pressure of the spring46, and that the yoke will actto retract the latch bolt through its cooperation with the shoulderedportion 40 of the latch bolt assembly. This retraction of the latch boltwill take place against the additional pressure of the spring 20.Therefore, it is quite clear that the retraction of the latch bolt bythe rollbacks will take place against the combined pressure of springs20 and 46, yielding-a type of actionwhich is very desirable for knoboperation, for which the present latch is particularly intended.

It Will be noted that spindle portions of the type well known in the artand designated by reference numerals 41 and 48, cooperate respectivelyWith the outside and inside rollbacks. It

will be noted also'that the latch bolt itself may be retractedby theendwise pressure of a strike against thegresistancev of the relatively`light va predetermined position,

spring 20, to yield what is termed an easy action latch bolt, all as hasbeen more particularly set forth above.

In Fig. 9, we show our lock applied to a door 49, and with an insideknob 50 rotating relatively to an inside rose 5| through which projectsthe push button 28, which is threaded into the push piece 25, as hasalready been described. It is obvious that the hexagon shape of the pushbutton 28 cooperates with the opening 28a in the rose 5| to preventrotation of the push button once it has been rotated to a particularadjusted relation to the push piece 25 through the cooperation of itsthreaded portion 21 with the threaded opening 25 of the push piece. Thisparticular construction is not, however, novel with us, and is merelydescribed here to present a more complete description of the method ofmounting the lock in a door.

We now claim:

1. In a lock of the class described, a substantially tubular housing, alatch bolt slidable in said housing, a push piece guide secured in saidhousing and transversely thereof, a spring extending between said latchbolt and said push piece guide for projecting said latch bolt, a latchbolt retracting yoke having a portion impinging against a portion ofsaid latch bolt and a leg portion extending towards and beyond said pushpiece guide, whereby said yoke-will retract said latch bolt while saidlatch bolt may be retracted independently of said yoke, a spring betweensaid push piece guide and the yoke for projecting said yoke, inside andoutside rollbacks mountedin said housing for cooperation with said leg`portion for retracting said yoke and latch bolt, andV a. push piece insaid push piece guide for locking one of said rollbacks when pushed intoa predetermined position.

2. In a lock of the class described, a substantially tubularhousing, alatchbolt slidable in said housing, a push piece guide secured in saidhousing and transverselythereof, la spring for projecting said latchbolt, a yokeiitting over,l a portion of said latch bolt and having aportion extending towards and beyond said push piece guide, whereby saidyoke will retract said latch Abolt while said latch bolt may beretracted independently of said yoke, a spring for projecting said yoke,inside and outside rollbacks mounted in said housing for cooperationwith said yoke for retracting said yoke and latch bolt, a vpush piecefor locking one of said rollbacks when pushed into a predeterminedposition, and means whereby one of said springs maintains said pushpiece yieldingly in said predetermined position.,

3. In a lock of the class described, a substantially tubular housing, alatch bolt slidable in saidhousing, a push piece guide secured in saidhousing and transversely thereof, a` springextending between said latchbolt and ,said push piece guide for projecting said latch bolt, ayokefitting over a portion of said latch bolt Varid extending towards andAbeyond .said push'4 piece guide, whereby said yoke Will retract said'latch bolt while said latch bolt may be retractedvindependently of saidyoke, a spring between said push piece. guide and said yoke forprojecting said yoke, inside and outside rollbacks mounted in saidhousing for retracting said yoke. and latch bolt, a push piece in saidpush piece guide'for locking one of said rollbacks when pushed. into andmeans whereby one of saidsprings maintains said push.' piece .yieldinglyin said predetermined position.`

4. In a lock of the class described, a substantially tubular housing, alatch bolt slidable in said housing, a push piece guide secured in saidhousing'a'nd transversely thereof, a spring eX- tending between saidlatch bolt and said push piece guide for projecting said latch bolt, aU- shaped yoke having its closed end tting over a portion of said latchbolt and with its parallel leg portions extending towards and beyondsaid push piece guide-in4 straddling relation thereto, whereby said yokewill retract said latch bolt while said latch bolt may be retractedindependently of said yoke, a spring between said push piece guide andthe closed end of said U-shaped yoke for projecting said yoke, insideand outside rollbacks mounted in said housing for cooperapushed into apredetermined position, whereby one of said springs maintains said pushpiece yieldingly in said predetermined position.

5. In a lock of the class described, a housing, a beveled strikeengaging latch bolt slidable in said housing, a rollback for retractingsaid latch bolt to withdraw it from locking engagement with said strike,a push piece for locking said rollback against rotation While leavingsaid latch bolt free for retraction independently of said rollback, aspring in said housing having one end pressing directly against asurface of said latch bolt projecting said latchV bolt outwardlyrelatively to said housing, and a plug against which the other end ofsaid spring presses in all positions of said latch bolt whereby tomaintain a portion of said plug yieldingly in position relatively to acooperating portion of said push piece for yieldingly resisting themovement of said push piece.

6. In a lock of the class described, a housing, a latch bolt slidable insaid housing, a rollback for retracting said latch bolt, a push piecefor locking said rollback against rotation, plate in said housing havingan opening, a spring in said housing having one end projecting saidlatch bolt outwardly relatively to said housing, a plug against whichthe other end of said spring presses, said plug having a portionextending through said guide plate opening and cooperable with a portionof said push piece whereby to retain said push piece yieldingly in aparticular position.

'7. In a lock of the class described, a housing, a latch bolt slidablein said housing, a rollback for retracting said latch bolt, a push piecefor locking said rollback against rotation, a guide casing positionedtransversely in said housing for guiding said push piece, a spring insaid housing having one end projecting said latch bolt outwardlyrelatively to said housing, a plug pressed by the other end of saidspring against said guide casing and with a portion thereof extendingthrough an opening in the guide casing, said plug portion cooperatingwith spaced detent surfaces on said push piece for yieldingly retainingsaid push piece in particular spaced positions to which it is moved.

8. In a lock of the class described, a housing, a latch bolt slidable insaid housing, a rollback for retracting said latch bolt, a push piecefor locking said rollback against rotation, a guide casing positionedtransversely in said housing for guiding said push piece, a spring insaid housing having one end projecting said latch bolt outwardlyrelatively to said housing, a plug pressed by the other end of saidspring against said guide casing and with x a portion thereof extendingthrough an opening in the guide casing, said plug portion cooperatingwith spaced detent surfaces on said push piece for yieldingly retainingsaid push piece in particular spaced positions to which it is moved, acam surface formed on said push piece, and a portion of said latch boltadapted to impinge against said cam surface to move said push piece fromone position in which it is yieldingly retained by said plug, to asecond position.

' 9. In a lock of the class described, a substantially tubular housing,a latch bolt slidable insaid housing, a push piece guide secured in saidhousing and transversely thereof, a spring extending between said latchbolt and said push piece guide for projecting said latch bolt, aU-shaped yoke having its closed end fitting over -a portion of said pushpiece guide for locking one of said rollbacks when pushed into apredetermined position, means whereby one of said springs maintains saidpush piece yieldingly in said predetermined position, and means on saidlatch bolt when it is reing and transversely thereof, a, springextending between said latch bolt and said push piece guide forprojecting said latch bolt, a U-shaped yoke guide in straddling relationyoke will retract said latch bolt may be retracted independently of saidyoke, a spring between said push piece guide and the closed end of saidU-shaped yoke for projecting said yoke, inside and outside rollbacksmounted in said housing for cooperation with said parallel legs forretracting said yoke and latch bolt, a push piece in said push pieceguide for locking one of said rollbacks when pushed into a predeterminedposition, means whereby one of said 11. In a lock of the classdescribed, a, tubular housing, a latch bolt slidable in said housing,independently rotatable inside and outside roll backs in said housingfor retracting said latch bolt, a push piece mounted for axial movementtransversely of said housing and adapted for manual movement from theinside of said lock into locking position, means on said push piecemovable into a slot in said outside rollback for so moved into lockingposition While leaving said inside roll back free to retract said latchbolt, means on said latch bolt for contacting said push piece when saidlatch bolt is retracted whereby to move said push piece out of itslocking position and into a release position, and spring meansyieldingly retaining said push piece in said locking position -and inits release position and yieldingly resisting the movement of said pushpiece from one position to the other.

12. In a lock of the class described, a housing, a beveled strikeengaging latch bolt slidable in said housing, a rollback for retractingsaid latch bolt to withdraw it from locking engagement with said strike,la push piece mounted for movement in said housing into a releaseposition and into a locking position for locking said rollback againstrotation, while leaving said latch bolt free for retractionindependently of said rollback, a spring in said housing having one endpressing directly against a surface of said latch bolt effecting theprojection of said latch bolt outwardly relatively to said housing,means whereby the other end of said spring coacts with said push piecein all positions of said latch bolt for yieldingly resisting themovement of said push piece from said release and locking positions, andmeans whereby said latch bolt moves said push piece out of lockingposition and into release position when said latch bolt is retractedwhile said push piece is in locking position.

13. In a lock of the class described, a housing, a beveled strikeengaging latch bolt slidable in said housing, a rollback for retractingsaid latch bolt to withdraw it from locking engagement with said strike,a push piece mounted for movement in said housing into a releaseposition and into a locking position for locking said rollback againstrotation while leaving said latch bolt free for retraction independentlyof said rollback, a spring in said housing having one end pressingdirectly against a surface of said latch bolt effecting the projectionof said latch. bolt outwardly relatively to said housing, means wherebythe other end of said spring coacts with said push piece in all posi- 20tions of said latch bolt for yieldingly resisting the movement of saidpush piece from either of said positions to the other position.

` CHARLES LEDIN.

JOHN P. ANDREW.

